A British national living in Lebanon insists he will not leave the country because he feels “settled” and is “not scared” of the violence between Hezbollah and Israel.
Alan, who did not wish to give his surname, moved from London to Lebanon in 2005 after his friend recommended he should visit the country, and he has stayed there ever since.
The 77-year-old has no intention of leaving his home in Tripoli, north Lebanon, despite the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) urging British nationals to leave the country while commercial flights are still available as tensions in the region escalate.
“I’ve settled here. I’m 77 years old and I don’t want to go and start and live somewhere else. I couldn’t really face having to build a new life somewhere,” he told the PA news agency.
He said he is not fearful amid the escalating violence in the country because his neighbourhood remains generally unaffected.
“Personally, I’m not scared at the moment, because basically nothing is happening where I live,” he said.
“Although a friend who messaged me (on Saturday) said there has been a building bombed by the Israeli air force, which is only two or three miles away.”
Alan said he left during the 2006 Lebanon war, but has been put off leaving again after being “disrupted” by the experience.
“In 2006, when I had to leave for a work assignment, I packed my bags and sort of closed up the house here and I left,” he said.
“It was fine but the whole thing (the war) had blown over after a month.
“I totally disrupted my life. I sold off a car and other things in the apartment. I lost money because of it and I’m not jumping into that again.”
Alan claimed the FCDO has not shown enough care for British nationals leaving Lebanon after he was not notified about an evacuation flight.
He said he is registered with the Foreign Office and receives updates from it via email but claimed information about evacuation flights was only posted on social media, which are “not things I follow”.
“Most probably a year now since the first thing started with Hamas in Gaza, (the FCDO) have sort of been saying ‘You should get out, but do it on a commercial flight’,” he said.
“Their line, in fact, has always been since 2006… that we will not evacuate you. You’ve got to make your own decisions.
“Then I’m watching BBC… and the BBC say the UK Government is organising evacuation flights. Why aren’t you telling me about that? Why isn’t that mentioned on the website right now?”
He added that the Foreign Office’s “general attitude has been ‘there will be no more evacuation – you’re on your own'” but he said he is “happy to live with that”.
He believes the recent escalation is different from the atmosphere during the 2006 Lebanon war.
“There was an attack on the infrastructure (in 2006). This time it is different,” he said.
“It’s from my perspective that they are trying to root out Hezbollah, but they’re perhaps not specifically trying to hit the basic infrastructure of the country the way they did last time.”
“But it does seem what they (the Israeli military) are doing seems to be fairly focused.
“They’re focusing not on Lebanon as a country. They’re focusing on Hezbollah.”
An FCDO spokesman said: “We know it is a distressing time for British nationals and all people in Lebanon, which is why we are doing everything we can to help.
“British nationals in Lebanon should register their presence to receive direct updates.”
To register your presence, you can visit: https://www.register.service.csd.fcdo.gov.uk/lebanon-20140925/tell-the-uk-government-youre-in-lebanon
